By Jennifer Mrozowski and Michael Clark
Enquirer staff writers

INFOGRAPHIC

• Ohio Graduation Test results

If preliminary results are any indication, at least two-thirds of Ohio sophomores - and more in Southwest Ohio - should ace key portions of a tougher graduation test this spring.

That's according to reading and math results of the new Ohio Graduation Test, released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Education.

The tests - designed to measure achievement in five major subject areas - won't count against the 128,000 public school sophomores who took them in March, but they do give an early indication of how the next crop of tenth-graders will score. Ohio is phasing in the new graduation test, which will replace the ninth-grade proficiency test. But when the class of 2007 takes all five parts of the test next March, the results will count.

The results of this year's test haven't been verified by school districts and could change, but early figures show 78 percent of Ohio's public school sophomores passed the reading test and 67 percent passed math.

Southwest Ohio public school students scored higher than the state average, with 83 percent passing the reading test and 73 percent passing math.

State officials say they are encouraged by the overall passing rates, but more work needs to be done to prepare kids this school year.

Most troubling, though, are the persistent achievement gaps between students of different races, state officials say.

"Preliminary or not, (the results) confirm that there are tremendous gaps between groups of students in Ohio," said Dottie Howe, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Education.

"We know these gaps exist, and we are working very hard to implement strategies to close them."

The gap shows white students statewide scoring 25 percentage points higher on the reading test and 36 percentage points higher on the math test. The results were not available by district.

The Ohio Graduation Test is considered a more rigorous measure of student achievement than the ninth-grade proficiency test because it measures students' performance on high school material. The ninth-grade test, which has been required for graduation, measured students' knowledge on material through eighth grade, Howe said.

Beginning this spring, all Ohio 10th-graders - public and private - are expected to take the graduation test. They are the first class required to pass the test's five parts - reading, math, writing, science and social studies - to graduate. Students will have multiple opportunities to pass the tests.

Students may graduate and receive a diploma without passing the test if they pass four parts of the test and miss the fifth test by no more than 10 points, have a 97 percent attendance rate and no expulsions, have a grade-point average of 2.5 out of 4.0 in the subject area missed and meet other requirements.

Though the March results of the tests won't count against students, they will count against districts and schools as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires schools and districts to measure progress on tests.

Lebanon schools in Warren County saw 85 percent of its 10th-graders pass the new reading test, while 80 percent also passed the math portion.

The 4,800-student district began revamping its curricula years ago to raise to the level of the 10th-grade test, said Superintendent Bill Sears.

"We're very pleased, and it's indicative that we are taking Lebanon to the next level," said Sears, whose district has earned the state's top academic ranking of "excellent."

In Butler County's Edgewood Schools, which earned an "effective" rating - the second highest grade in the most recent Ohio School Report Card rankings - officials said realigning the 3,400-student system's instruction to coincide with state academic guidelines is paying off.

Edgewood's 10th-graders registered among the highest passing percentages - 85 percent for reading and 78 percent in math - among Butler County's 10 school districts.

"We're very pleased with the results, and we give all the credit to our teachers and curriculum instructors," said Edgewood Assistant Superintendent Larry Knapp.

In the 38,800-student Cincinnati Public Schools, 74 percent of sophomores passed the reading test and 60 percent passed math. The district is labeled in "academic emergency," the worst of the five state rankings for student achievement.

"We are encouraged by the district's progress," said Terry Joyner, the district's chief academic officer. "Knowing that these are preliminary scores, we appear to be ahead of the other urban school districts. And we look very close to the state average in reading."

For statewide results, visit the Ohio Department of Education's Web site, www.ode.state.oh.us/proficiency/resultsOGT.asp

Ken Alltucker contributed. E-mail jmrozowski@enquirer.com